Religion in Global Civil Society

The extraordinary changes in world society at the beginning of the 21st century have involved religion to a degree that would have amazed earlier observers of modernity. Within the past decade religion has been associate with some of the world's most strident forms of political encounter, including new movements of nationalism, the clerical leadership of political…
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Overview

The extraordinary changes in world society at the beginning of the 21st century have involved religion to a degree that would have amazed earlier observers of modernity. Within the past decade religion has been associate with some of the world's most strident forms of political encounter, including new movements of nationalism, the clerical leadership of political sects, and the religiously motivated acts of terrorism. Religion seems to be trying to tear the planet apart, even as other cultural forces seem to be trying to pull it together. Is religion the natural enemy of globalization? The essays in this volume explore the difficulties and possibilities of a diversity of religious groups occupying the same civil society. Religion, these essays demonstrate, plays diverse and sometimes contradictory roles in the new cultural globalization. In a global culture the shared values of different religious traditions can provide a collective sense of virtuous conduct in public life. But religion can also support the position of enemies of global society - those who see in globalization the effort to impose the values and power of one country over the others.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"The pattern that emerges from this book is one of complexity and ambivalence, but also optimism that religious influences can both moderate the ill effects of globalization and spark thoughtful dialogue and development." Faith & International Affairs

"The book's main contribution is to forefront the ethical dilemmas and possibilities faced by religion in an increasingly interconnected world, and to document the contradictions of religious responses to globalization."Contemporary Sociology

"I recommend this well-written text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on contemporary topics in the sociology of religion, and globalization. ...All will come away better informed and more sensitive."Contemporary Sociology